GM: We Don’t Lose $49K on Each Chevy Volt

A recent report claims that General Motors (NYSE:GM[1]) loses $49,000 on every Chevy Volt[2] — $10,000 more than the car even costs.

The company, though, has fired back and is saying that those figures are way off. It claims that development costs are spread out among all the vehicles it builds so the loss per vehicle shrinks over time.

Still, GM does admit that it is indeed losing money on the Volt — it just won’t say how much. It just says that, while it is taking longer-than-usual for the product to add to the company’s bottom line, that is still of course the goal.

The company can’t argue with the car’s lower-than-expected sales, which have missed original 2012 targets.

Sales are looking better of late, though, possibly thanks to new lease offers and some new regulations. Last month, the Volt had its best sales since launch.

And things look to be improving for hybrids all-around. Sales of gasoline-electric hybrids have risen 65% so far this year. Toyota‘s (NYSE:TM[3]) Prius, though, snatched up nearly 60% of that market segment.

If the car does indeed continue to … well … lose less, and maybe even one day be profitable, things could be on the way up for the Volt.

Until then, the question of just how much the hybrid car is costing GM remains.